tl19820319-000 ".111. Towerlight vol. 75 No. 21 PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY TOWSON, MARYLAND 21204 Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse? Bruce Springsteen March 19, 1982 Reorganization plan nears completion by Stacey Parker After six years of University status, Towson State is finally completing a change in academic structure to match its name. ""By June, we're in operation. We will have finished our work by then,"" said Dr. Patricia Plante, vice presi-dent of academic affairs. The reorganization was approved last May by the Academic Council, but was studied by the university for two years before its passage. Under the new system, similar departments will be grouped under one of six main bodies, the College of Liberal Arts, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, School of Fine Arts and Communication, School of Education and Instructional Services, School of Business and Economics and School of Health Profes-sions and Physical Education. The structure of the academic departments will not change, however, and no department will change buildings. The Academic Council is waiting to approve constitu-tions as they are submitted by the colleges, which the faculty of each college must first draft and approve. So far, the only one approved by the Council is the con-stitution of the College of Liberal Arts. The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and the School of Education and Instructional Services are still awaiting approval by their faculties. Most 9f the consitutions will be coming before the Council in April. After each constitution is approved by the Council, the only remaining action to be taken is the revision of the university by-laws, which also comes up in April. 'The Academic Council will then be replaced by the University Senate, which will include elected represen-tatives from the schools and colleges, and students from the SGA. One of the main advantages to the reorganization, said Plante, is that ""faculty and students will have many more opportunities to participate in self-goverment."" The new structure should also give students a stronger self-identity, and sense of belonging, she said. ""It will be easy for students to identify with a smaller unit."" In addition, degrees from a particular school or college will carry more status, she said. Academic standards, admissions requirements, and general university requirements will not change. New students who are undecided about a major will be placed in the College of Liberal Arts. The entire reorganization will cost only about $50,000, most of which will pay the salary and office expenses of a new dean for the business school, said Plante. Dr. Herbert D. Andrews, chairperson of the Academic Council, said he fears the reorganization will increase parochialism on campus in the long run. ""I am concerned about the likelihood of parochialism, and that it may be damaging to the university achieving its goals as a totality."" He feels this may occur primarily in the University Senate, which will consist of two senators from each school and college, and only six representatives elected at-large. ""There may be more tugging and pulling by each school and college for its own interests,"" he said. But Plante said there will be standing committees in the Senate to make sure one school doesn't move away from the university. ""We have all sorts of protection against that."" Andrews said he doesn't think the restructuring will affect students much. ""I don't think students are going to perceive any difference at all."" Drinking age hike inevitable by Bruce Reid � There seem to be view obstacles that could prevent legislation to aise Maryland's legal drinking age for beer and wine to 21 from becom-g law July 1. Two nearly identical bills to raise he drinking age recently sailed cross the General Assembly floor 'tied by the gale-force lobbying ef-forts of groups like Mothers gainst Drunk Driving (MADD) d Gov. Harry R. Hughes. Students at many of Maryland's olleges and universities voiced full-fledged opposition to the bills, but heir efforts to save their rights to drink, which they say is tantamount to their right to vote, failed in th wake of lobbying based on a direc elationship between drinking and driving. Student organizations at Towson State have been concerned that i the sale of beer and wine is restricted at campus events, the would lose a primary source o revenue. As much as 76 to 80 percent of th patrons at campus events where alcohol is sold are between 18 and Continued on fte1S photo by Colleen Kadan While reorganization plans turn the campus into in-dividual colleges, students can rest assured that Lin-photo by Edyinn La thicum Hall won't be transplanted somewhere in an obscure field behind Osier Drive. Residence Government starts work by Teresa Hicks Towson State's first Residence Government was formed last semester and elections were held in December. The officers elected were: Mark Snidero, president; Julie Brown, vice president; Geoff Nelson, treasurer; Terry Lohman, secretary. ""The Residence Government is a formal board that deals with the policies and maintenance of the dorms,"" Lohmann said. According to the first article of the residence government consitu-tion, the purpose of the government is ""to promote a positive living-learning environment in the campus residence halls and to promote cooperation among the residence hall students and the University's residence department to include all University faculty and administra-tion."" Gerry Muccioli, former SGA Stu-dent Government Association direc-tor of communications, established the government and developed a constitution for it. ""It was Gerry's idea. He worked hard before he graduated to get it done. He saw the defunct residence council which was demolished in the fall � everyone had resigned in the spring of '81. There was no repre-sentation for students,"" Lohman said. ""The residence council was just a programming board. They kept the money for parties,"" Lohman said. ""We have to get people involved. People don't realize we're here,"" she added. The constitution consists of seven articles and provides for a facilities committee, a hearing board, a policy committee and a publications coor-dinator. All the committees are staf-fed by students. According to the Constitution anyone living in the Residence Halls is automatically a member of the Residence Government. However, the Residence Government does not have the authority to assess fees from any resident student. The Constitution outlines the duties of the officers and committee members and states any officer can be removed from office by a % ma-jority vote. Anyone desiring a position as an officer must submit their name and photo by Mike Winard Pictured above are Residence Government officers; Mark Snidero, presi-dent; Terry Lohman, Treasurer; Julie Andrews, Julie Brown qualifications to the president who runs the election based on the pro-cedures in the constitution. Any amendments to the Resi-dence Government constitution must be submitted in writing at a government meeting for passage by a 2/3 majority vote. The amendment must then be ap-proved by the SGA Senate to be in-stituted. ""Right now we're just laying a strong foundation . . . we're not go-ing to come out right away and make a lot of changes,"" Snidero said. ""The policy committee is working on getting a calorie counter for Newell Dining Hall,"" Snidero said. A calorie counter lists the amount of calories contained in each serving of food. ""It is also working on getting a plexiglass case to cover the desserts that sit on the turntable."" ""The policy committee is doing a survey of which foods people do and don't like. It is also working on hav-ing special dinners once every two weeks instead of once a month,"" he said. Snider() said there will be a billing committee with will locate bills that were supposed to be sent to resi-dents for room damages. University police force: the real thing by Tom Paul The presence of guns on campus, even if in the possession of the cam-pus police force, may intimidate some students and contribute to negative student opinion towards the force. However, the authorization to carry a gun is the difference be-tween a 'police officer' and a 'securi-ty guard.' Joseph Kelly, deputy director of the Towson State University police, said the campus police are not security guards but are ""sworn police officers here to uphold the law."" The University has had its in-dependent campus police since 1977 and each officer possesses all the authorizations, powers and respon-sibilities of other sworn officers of the law in Maryland. But while state troopers get 385 hours of training in police techni-ques, law, driving and other police procedures, officers on the campus force must complete training* with either the Baltimore City or Balti-more County Police Academies which gives them 900 hours of train-ing. And while state troopers must on-ly qualify on the firing range once each year, the camnus police officers are required to check out on the range two times each year. To train for the firing range, the university has its own firearms in-structors on campus. Other schools in the area also have campus police forces that carry guns. Officers from several campuses would not say if their weapons had ever been fired; neither was there any consensus as to whether fire-arms were actually needed. Robert Larkin, a major with the Johns Hopkins University security force on Homewood Campus said, ""There have been no problems where guns would have been help-ful. Guns simply aren't needed."" Larkin said when the situation gets out of hand they call in the Baltimore City police. ""Guns are only used as the last resort,"" said Oscar Harley, captain of the Coppin State College force. On the other hand, Otis Conway, police chief of the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore force said their guns have been a definite deterrent to crime. The majority of crimes on area campuses are theft and vandalism, with most of the crimes committed by non-students. Many area colleges are highly ac- Continued on page 10 photo by John O'Loughlin Duriag the past 18 months, Towson State campus police have not fired their guns on campus, a police spokesman said. "
